Issued July 21, 2010

DOE-ID Bi-Weekly Summary
For the Period July 6-July 19, 2010

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a regular summary of operations at DOE’s Idaho Site. It has been compiled in response to a request from stakeholders for more information on health, safety and environmental incidents at DOE facilities in Idaho. It also includes a brief summary of accomplishments at the site. The report is broken down by contractor: Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This summary will be sent to everyone on INL’s regular news release distribution list every other week. To be added to this distribution list, please call Brad Bugger at (208) 526-0833.

Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project

July 14: Waste retrieval operations in certain areas of the Transuranic Storage Area-Retrieval Enclosure have been suspended after waste containers were discovered that were more degraded than expected. Retrieval operations will resume after proper engineered controls can be developed and implemented. All other activities in this area, including low-level and mixed-low level waste operations, waste handling and warehouse operations will continue. (EM-ID—BBWI-AMWTF-2010-0014).

Operations Summary

Waste Shipments: Fourteen of 15 planned shipments of contact-handled transuranic waste and three of three remote-handled transuranic waste shipments were made for the week ending July 10, 2010. The waste was shipped from Idaho to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for disposal. Six of the shipments contained exhumed waste from the Accelerated Retrieval Project (ARP). Eighteen contact-handled transuranic waste shipments and two remote-handled transuranic waste shipments are scheduled for the week ending July 17, 2010.

Idaho Cleanup Project

July 12: Workers who installed electrical conduit in a trailer at the ICP Analytical Laboratory at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex failed to get a required lockout/tag-out evaluation before installing the conduit, as required by procedure. A step-back from electrical work at the ICP Analytical Laboratory was initiated and a fact-finding investigation initiated. (EM-ID—CWI-ICPWM-2010-0003).

Operations Summary

Waste Retrieval Operations: Waste processing operations continue in the Accelerated Retrieval Project (ARP) I, ARP II, ARP III and ARP IV with exhumation, staging trays of waste and processing drums in Airlock 2 and Airlock 3 at the Idaho Cleanup Project for the week ending July 9, 2010, as follows: Drum Packaging Station production of 82 drums and drums to Central Characterization Project were 96. At ARP V, construction activities continue. At ARP VI, construction activities continue with steel erection ongoing.

Idaho National Laboratory

July 8: A laborer, working at the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, cut the index finger and thumb on his left hand while trying to cut a plastic sprinkler pipe. The employee was evaluated by a doctor, who referred the employee to an off-site specialist. A review of the event and critique were performed. (NE-ID—BEA-RTC-2010-0002).

July 14: During inspection of incoming empty shipping containers at the Specific Manufacturing Capability Project, inspectors identified two tie-down straps that each contained a bolt with no headmark (potentially counterfeit). The bolts were removed from the straps and the straps were destroyed. (NE-ID—BEA-SMC-2010-0007).

July 14: An engineer at the Advanced Test Reactor reported that the lubricating oil viscosity for a diesel firewater pump was out of specification. The pump was declared out of service, operations were limited according to procedure, and a service request to change the lubricating oil and filter on the firewater pump was submitted and approved. (NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2010-0010).

July 14: A wildland fire started on the Idaho National Laboratory site near the Critical Infrastructure Test Range. High winds caused the fire to spread rapidly to the northeast across the INL. The fire damaged INL power transmission and distribution systems. No facilities sustained major damage, and there was only a minor injury to a firefighter. The fire was eventually fully contained and controlled after burning an estimated 109,000 acres, about 80,000 of which were on the INL site. (NE-ID—BEA-CFA-2010-0003).

Operations Summary
INL Researchers Win Honors: Idaho National Laboratory researchers earned R&D 100 Awards for three of four nominated technologies during the international competition hosted by R&D Magazine. Two of the selections reward research in optics for a revolutionary gunsight technology called MicroSight and a green energy technology called Supercritical Solid Catalyst that converts the lowest kinds of waste to the finest biodiesel fuel. The third award was for the collaborative effort called osgBullet, which offers a tool for real-time creation and interaction with multibody dynamics simulations in a 3D graphical environment.